Toms are practicing their dance to attract hens

This tom's head is bluish tint on white.(Photo11: Courtesy/David Tremblay)

When it comes to wildlife in Lincoln County, photographer David Tremblay never runs out of models, some of which seem to know they are being photographed and pose accordingly.

One of his favorite subjects is the wild turkey who strut by his ranch, stopping for some free grain and human admiration.

“It has been noted according to Benjamin Franklin that the wild turkey was ‘more respectable than the eagle and a true American native.’ Franklin’s sentiment continues to be shared by many, that the wild turkey is a beautiful wildlife species,” Tremblay said.

Three subspecies of wild turkey live in New Mexico. The Merriam’s turkey predominantly is a mountain and coniferous forest species, the type that visits Tremblay.

“They have the widest distribution and are the most numerous turkey species in the state,” he said. “The Rio Grande turkey can be found along watercourses in central and northeastern New Mexico, and the rare Gould’s or Mexican turkey is found in the extreme southwestern corner of the state.”

Females or hens generally are lighter colored than the males , who are called gobblers or toms. Toms also sport red, white and blue coloration on their nearly featherless head and beards, a hair-like feather clusters that protrude from a male’s breast, he said.

Hens average 8 pounds to 10 pounds, while fully-grown toms average 17 to 22 pounds. The turkey is the second heaviest North American bird after the trumpeter swan.

The rd tuff shows on one tom's chest while a buddy spreads his fan.(Photo11: Courtesy/David Tremblay)

“Wild turkeys have very powerful legs and can run at speeds up to 25 miles per hour,” Tremblay said. “Their top speed in flight is 55 miles per hour. The average lifespan of a wild turkey is 3 year to 5 years. The oldest known wild turkey lived to be at least 13 years old.”

The fan

A tom spreads his tail feathers in an upright fan, droops his wing tips to the ground and performs a strutting dance to attract the attention of the surrounding hens.

“In this case, all the males that visit here appear to me to be practicing for courtship,” Tremblay said. “Males may be seen courting in groups, often with the dominant male gobbling, spreading their tail feathers strutting, drumming/booming and spitting.”

Tremblay said he wondered why the rafter, or flock of males, that visit his property were acting in a similar manner.

“I learned in a study, the average dominant male that courted as part of a pair of males fathered six more eggs than males that courted alone,” he said. “Genetic analysis of pairs of males courting together shows that they are close relatives, with half of their genetic material being identical.

“The theory behind the team-courtship is that the less dominant male would have a greater chance of passing along shared genetic material than if it were courting alone. Nature sure is creative when it comes to reproducing.”

Males are polygamous, mating with as many hens as they can.

Toms or gobblers have a large featherless reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles.

When males are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all become engorged with blood. The color of a male’s head can change with the turkey's mood. White indicates more content and some turkey's heads have a bluish tint.

The long fleshy flap over a male's beak is called a snood.

“We are blessed to have these interesting birds visit,” Tremblay said. “In the past two years I have come to love these ‘Turkey Birds.’ My biggest reward is to see them running to me when I whistle. It is so cool .”